


To Face a Foreign Soldier

by derryderrydown



Category: Sharpe (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-14
Updated: 2009-11-14
Packaged: 2017-10-02 17:09:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/derryderrydown/pseuds/derryderrydown





	To Face a Foreign Soldier

Hagman had been singing when they left and Sharpe couldn't remember much of the song but there was a phrase bouncing round his skull. It didn't do anything to help the aching of his head. He moved just enough to rub his eyes but there was no relief.

_He was off to be a soldier, he'd be fighting for the king,  
In a far off war in a far off land._

The war was all around him and the land wasn't that far off when you were there and you fought for the people around you, not some distant king. And when you'd spent barely a year in England in the past ten, home was something you took with you.

He felt Harper crawling alongside him and lifted his head, though it was too dark to see. He still hadn't heard anything of the French patrol they were waiting for. Harper's hand was heavy on the small of his back, a silent question. "Nothing," Sharpe breathed and Harper increased the pressure, acknowledging the response. He didn't remove his hand and Sharpe welcomed the touch, an anchor in the night.

He shouldn't have left camp but he'd only realised he was sick when it was too late. Not that Hogan would have taken illness as an excuse. This patrol had to be secured and he mightn't have explained why but Sharpe could tell when it was important.

He did his best to stifle a sneeze but it was still loud enough to make him wince. Harper's breath on his ear was warm, familiar and comforting. Home, he thought vaguely.

"You alright?"

Sharpe nodded, dimly aware that Harper would pick up the movement.

A suspicious pause then a relaxing of breath that lifted the hair on his neck and made him smile. "If you say so."

And Harper would never be convinced but Sharpe didn't mind. Nice to have somebody you could trust to disbelieve you when necessary. Sharpe rested his head, apparently packed in wool, on Harper's shoulder. Harper's hand caressed his back and it was an all-too-brief moment of contentment before they were both up, moving and slitting throats.


End file.
